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THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano T he undulating high desert highway lay before and behind me like an asphalt snake lazily making its way over caliche hills dotted with scrub and cacti. Overhead, a dangling buzzard or two punctuated the blue Texas sky, somehow mak- ing me feel even more alone out here in the middle of Southwest Texas no-where. Sure didn't seem like any wine trail I'd been on before. But it was. Texas Highway 377 was my spartan path into Del Rio, Texas, a tidy town - population about forty thousand - situated squat o n t h e b o r d e r w i t h C i u d a d Acuña, Mexico…and also the home of Texas' oldest wine pro- ducer, Val Verde Winery. I i m a g i n e w i n e r y f o u n d e r Francesco Qualia might've felt about the same in some aspects as he rolled into San Felipe Del Rio around 1880 perched atop a wagon filled with a few belong- ings and a whole lot of dreams. F r a n k Q u a l i a , a s h i s Americanized name came to be, had seen a lot more territory pass underfoot on his way here from his home of Castellanza in north- ern Italy -- first stop Mexico, then on to San Antonio, and finally Del Rio, this green patch nestled in the harsh Chihuahuan Desert. F r a n k , a l o n g w i t h o t h e r agrarian-minded Italian immi- grants, had learned of the plenti- ful and verdant oasis-like land on the San Felipe springs in Del Rio. A consortium of visionary developers had devised a clever system of irrigation ditches and levies, still in use today, and ral- lied for new landowners to come and behold. Cheap, fertile land offered ripe opportunity and Frank saw the risk worth taking. But opportunity wasn't the only thing ripe and ready – healthy, plentiful Black Spanish grapes were already permanent resi- dents, begging to be cultivated. The year 1883 saw the open- ing of Val Verde Winery, the first in Texas, with Frank at the helm, eagerly tending his vine- yards and producing small quan- tities of wine crafted with the techniques of his homeland. Ironically, Frank was, in some ways, merely picking up where h i s p r e d e c e s s o r f r a t e l l i , t h e Franciscan monks, had left off in 1659 when the first European vineyards were introduced to North America some 400 miles up the road near El Paso. Frank's vineyards did well in the Mediterranean-like climate. The hearty Black Spanish grapes PAULA REYNOLDS found romance with grafts from other varietals in later years, giving way to even hardier vines that withstood the rigors of dis- ease and pestilence. The Black Spanish, aka Lenoir, is still a prized cultivation from which t h e Q u a l i a ' s a w a r d w i n n i n g Tawny Port is produced, as well as a more recent pure Lenoir red (yes, I tasted it – more on that later!). By the early 1900's, Frank's l e a d h a d b e e n f o l l o w e d a n d some 20 plus wineries now dot- ted the Texas landscape. But like an early curfew at a great p a r t y , P r o h i b i t i o n a b r u p t l y showed up in 1920 and success- fully turned out the lights of wine producers in Texas and elsewhere. The once-burgeoning industry became nothing more than a good memory or two. E x c e p t f o r V a l V e r d e Winery. Determined to stay in the g a m e , F r a n k r e i n v e n t e d t h e business, producing table grapes for home use and wine-making, as well as selling small offerings of wine for sacrament in the Catholic Church. The Qualia b u s i n e s s d o o r s s t a y e d o p e n through Prohibition and beyond. The hit on Texas viniculture was long-lasting, however, and California became the big daddy for wine production. The Val Verde Winery remained the only active producer in Texas from 1949 through 1976, managing to deliver small quantities of quali- ty wine under the supervision of second-generation proprietor, son Louis, who took the reins in 1936 upon Frank's death. Louis felt the same passion for the family art, lovingly pro- ducing and distributing their Val Verde wines despite his diversi- fication into ranching across the t h e n - p o r o u s b o r d e r w i t h Mexico. His ardor for winemak- ing brought further innovation and improvement to the busi- ness, as well as providing tute- lage for s on Thomas , future owner-in-training. I thought on this family lega- cy as I followed the GPS direc- tions from modern strip center Del Rio into the historic old town. As if an imaginary line in the desert sand had been drawn, I seemed to literally step from a c o n c r e t e t h o r o u g h f a r e i n t o 1 9 5 0 ' s s m a l l t o w n U S A – where humble storefronts nested side by side, many lifeless now; where the old stone court house (built by Italian stone masons) still held guard over the land; where MeMe's Kleen Kitchen diner still offered good eats (since 1943); where just down a tree-lined neighborhood road sat Val Verde Winery. Situated on what now is a corner lot on Qualia Street in an eclectic neighborhood of homes from tiny and humble to man- s i o n - e s q u e , t h e w i n e r y s t i l l o c c u p i e s t h e o r i g i n a l a d o b e building posing peacefully on 18 acres of Frank's original land grant. The vineyards, barren and resting in this season, stretched out behind the building, a testa- ment to the labor and love of the Qualia family. I was hoping to meet and speak with either 3rd generation Thomas Qualia, who took over production in 1973 and can be credited with bringing the win- ery into national and interna- tional recognition, or his son Michael who is as close to being in charge as his father will let him. However, I was out of luck this day as both were not on site. I approached the unassuming off-white building; it seemed j u s t a n o t c h a b o v e b e i n g a s humble as it must've been after Frank had added the finishing touches. I wasn't even sure if the diminutive wooden door sit- u a t e d u n d e r a n u n a s s u m i n g metal staircase was the actual entrance to the tasting room or p o s s i b l y j u s t s t o r a g e r o o m access. I liked it, this comfortable, welcoming spot in Texas, and I could see how Frank found the appeal to add his roots to the ones already here. Louis and Thomas Qualia at Val Verde Winery TEXAS ITALIAN COMMUNITY Val Verde Winer y: Francesco Qualia and Texas' Oldest Winery Old wine-press at the Val Verde Winery Read part II in the edition of March 23